Tree Spirit
Little Beast Brewing

 

snagged this 2019 vintage bottle from the brewery since our visit there got cut a little short and we didnt get to try all the beers we wanted to. this is a kriek type, or rather a brett beer with cherries, more wild than sour and not trying to be lambic. it has a really hazy pour, pinkish pale red toned and quite thick looking, more and more sediment as we get towards the bottom, but the soft tone and high head make it look appealing enough, just a bit thicker and maybe less cleaned up looking than id prefer. the nose is amazing though, perhaps my favorite feature of this, tart and tannic cherries just behind a really mature brett profile, its got brett brux properties but is probably a mix of strains, drying and farmy and musty and really old world and cool, great with the cherries. plenty of wood on this as well. the flavor is almost just as good, way more fermentation driven than fruit driven, which i love, so much brett on here its bottle conditioned very well and is only a little bit sour. floral notes as well, cherry is obvious but a hint of cranberry or currant or something too, even a red wine layer with all the wood, really compelling and it warms up great. my critique here is that this is kind of messy, like its thick and sedimented and theres not that much beer in the bottle when you try to keep the dregs in and split it with someone, more refinement in the packaging would make this way better, but its hard to argue with these flavors, its a great brett profile and a cool and mellower use of the cherries. really enjoyed this and immediately wished for more of it!

Poured from 375ml corked & caged bottle into a tulip. This is a "foeder-aged ale with tart cherries", according to the label. Bottled October 2017.

Appearance: rich golden-amber hue with a dash of haze and a finger of frothy ivory foam atop. It's a good looking beer, though not what I expected from a cherry ale.

Smell: a little Brettanomyces funk right up front with a dash of sweetness, a slightly phenolic element and a dash of cherries makes this thing smell incredibly medicinal. Getting past that a little bit, it is an interesting wild ale aroma, but it doesn't have a ton of complexity.

Taste: the flavor starts off similarly medicinal, but the cherries come through quite nice here. Despite being brewed with lactobacillus and containing tart cherries, the sourness is incredibly mild. Plenty of Brett funk, but there's a rich undertone here that is quite good. If, that is, the medicinal nature doesn't put you off completely.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a big dose of carbonation and a giant creaminess pretty much only achievable with bottle conditioning. Wonderful.

Overall: I do like this beer, but the vapo-rub, cough-syrup medicinality of it is kind of crazy. I imagine it would put a lot of people off. This beer is only about a year old, and the label suggests waiting two years to drink it. Perhaps I'll go grab some more for the cellar and give it another try in a couple of years.